New Hope UMC Team
Pastor Rod Newman came to New Hope as Senior Pastor in July 2021. Over the course of his career, he has served as both associate and senior pastor in a number of churches, professor, author, and university chaplain. Rod grew up in Coweta, Oklahoma. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Tulsa and his master of divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary. When not at the church, he enjoys spending time with family, cooking, travel, and watching or reading British detective stories. He has a particular interest in Celtic Christianity, a topic upon which he frequently lectures, has taught undergraduate courses, and led study-abroad trips to Ireland.
Email: pastor@newhopeokc.org
Rod Newman, Senior Pastor
Amy Aita, Director of Preschool Ministries
Amy Aita is the Preschool Ministries Director. Amy has been an active member of New Hope since 2000. She attended UCO and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Ed. After teaching first and second grade for three years, Amy then stayed home with her oldest son after his birth. Since then, Amy has worked part-time as an elementary reading tutor, preschool literacy teacher, and helped start the Pre-K program for New Hope’s CDO program before becoming the CDO director in January of 2019.
Outside of work, Amy likes to spend time with her husband and their two boys. She also enjoys traveling, reading, spending time with friends, and shopping.
Katie joined the Music Ministries team at New Hope in January 2021 (fiddle/violin and vocals) and joined the program staff in the role of Ministries Coordinator in June 2022. Katie graduated from Oklahoma City University in 2015 with a Bachelor's degree in Music Business. She has an extensive background in office administration and has been contributing her time and talents to churches within the Oklahoma United Methodist Conference for over 20 years.
Katie is happiest spending her free time with her close friends and her pup, Murphy. She enjoys traveling and attending live theater/concerts and is an active, professional musician in the OKC metro area.
Email: katie@newhopeokc.org
Katie Barrick, Ministries Coordinator
Maddy Day, Director of Youth Ministry
Maddy Day is the Director of Youth Ministry. Maddy began working at New Hope in November 2021 as the Youth Intern. She started working with youth in camping ministries after she graduated from Yukon High School in 2018. Maddy also interned at her home church, The United Methodist Church of the Good Shepherd, from 2020-2021. She recently graduated college from Oklahoma City University in May 2022 with a Bachelor of Arts in Youth Ministry and Religious Education.
Maddy loves hiking, hammocking, and adventuring in nature. She loves cats and is a cat mom to Cleo. Maddy is also a big foodie and loves exploring new places to eat downtown. You can also check Maddy rocking a Chaco tan, fun nails she does herself, or reading a million books at the same time!
Email: maddy@newhopeokc.org
Lois Medina, Associate Director of Children’s Ministry
Lois Medina is the Associate Director of Children’s Ministry. She has been a member at New Hope for 21 years and has served in a staff role for 7 years. Lois graduated from Oklahoma City University twice where she earned a Bachelor’s of Arts in Political Science/Philosophy and a Master’s in Business Administration. During the week, Lois is with the Downtown YMCA as the District Youth & Family Director. Outside of the church, Lois enjoys hanging out with her family, going to the movies, and watching her favorite show, The Golden Girls.
Luisa Medina, Director of Children’s and Family Ministries
Luisa Medina is the Director of Children’s and Family Ministries. Raised in Oklahoma City, Luisa has been involved at New Hope since her family joined when she was in 4th grade. Throughout college she worked as an intern with both the Youth and Children’s Ministries at New Hope. Luisa has been the full-time Director of Children’s and Family Ministries for almost 8 years. Luisa attended college at Oklahoma City University where she graduated with a degree in Religious Education and Children’s Theater in 2013. Before coming to work at New Hope, Luisa worked for the Oklahoma Conference of the United Methodist Church in their Office of Mission.
Outside of the church, Luisa is an avid reader, she loves Taylor Swift, and is obsessed with true crime podcasts. She also loves spending time with family and relaxing around the house.
Email: luisa@newhopeokc.org
Tyler Stone, Director of Music Ministries
Having formerly served as both the Associate Director of Traditional Worship and the Director of Youth Ministries, Tyler Stone currently serves as New Hope’s Director of Music MInistries. Tyler joined New Hope’s ministry team in 2017 as Organist while completing his undergraduate degree in Music Education at Oklahoma City University. He later pursued a Master of Music degree, also from OCU which he completed in 2020. He became the Director of Youth Ministries in the Fall of 2020 and served as the director until June 2022.
Outside of church, Tyler is a performer with Canterbury Voices and an avid fan of motorsports.
Email: tyler@newhopeokc.org